From Hero to ZERO
by Ice Princess Xia
Summary: Libra is destroyed, the war is finally over. Quatre is flying down to the Earth with the others but he's about to enter another battle with a familiar opponent and once again endanger the lives of his friends...ZERO wants a life of its own...Yaoi, 3x4
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Gundam Wing.

Author Note: After tireless hours of writing and editing this story, I finally finished it **in its entirety**. It will be three separate chapters and depending on how people like it, there's a definite opportunity for a sequel.

**Details :: Please Read**

This story is set immediately at the end of the war. It does contain YAOI; you have been warned. (3x4, one-sided 2x1 for now).

_-------------Thoughts in italic are spoken by ZERO._

**-------------Thoughts in bold are spoken by Quatre.**

I tried to make what is happening as clear as I could but if there are any questions just let me know via review or e-mail.

With that said, enjoy.

* * *

From Hero to ZERO

Chapter One

As Wing Zero shone threw the cloud of dust that used to be the last plummeting portion of Libra, Quatre Raberba Winner smiled to himself; he had many reasons to smile in fact. Peace throughout the universe would soon be attained, he and his friends were all alive still and now they could all start new lives without the constant battles. Quatre blushed at this thought; he was especially excited for the new life that he would be starting with a certain Heavyarms pilot. Speaking of whom, Quatre looked to his video connection seeing Trowa's genuinely smiling face.

"Heero did it Little One." Quatre could hear the subtle excitement in Trowa's voice and smiled. After all the pain and torment of the war, the both of them had made it through and Quatre couldn't have been happier. All the Sandrock pilot wanted to do was burst with joy but as he took a breath to speak, his grin was overtaken by pain. Quatre had almost forgotten that he had been stabbed and was bleeding heavily into Sandrock's cockpit. Through the fighting, he had used the ZERO system to keep himself awake but now that he didn't have that to focus on, the pain was a good deal worse.

"Quatre? Are you doing all right?" When Quatre only grimaced more, Trowa grew concerned, speaking to everyone now.

"Let's get down to Earth immediately."

"What's the rush Tro? Why not enjoy space a little more?" Duo's voice rang in over the communication link but Trowa was quick to reply.

"Quatre's been badly injured. He needs hospital attention."

"Let's go." Without another argument, the five pilots began making their way towards Earth. Despite their separation during the war and outward ability to deny it, the five teens had grown quite close to one another and would do anything to keep the others from dying. In addition, before this battle had even started, they had decided that if the word 'hospital' was even mentioned that there would be no questions until things were sorted out entirely.

Quatre's heart felt warm at his friends' eagerness to help him and slowly but surely he was also following the group towards the beautiful Earth. Trowa had kept his video link with Quatre up checking in with him constantly as they were nearing the atmosphere. Quatre chuckled a bit at Trowa's already over-bearing actions. The two weren't even officially dating yet and he was already worrying too much. Still, Quatre appreciated it.

"Trowa, really, it hurts but I'm not feeling that badly. I'll make it to…" But Quatre was cut-short as the video link disconnected on its own.

"Trowa?" Quatre tried to reconnect but soon came to find that, in fact, his entire Sandrock had completely powered down. Quatre furrowed his brow and tried all of the controls but nothing was working. The blonde pilot began worrying that maybe the war wasn't over yet and only hoped that his other friends were able to move in their Gundams in case there was an attack.

_Quatre…_

Quatre stopped moving completely as he heard someone say his name. He didn't quite recognize the voice but he listened carefully as it spoke again.

_Oh Quatre, the timing is perfect now. I've been waiting…

* * *

_

Meanwhile, outside of Sandrock, the other pilots were still making their way to the Earth but stopped short at Trowa's voice.

"Hold on…I've lost Quatre." The four Gundams turned around to look at Sandrock and waited patiently until suddenly it powered down.

"What the hell…" Duo opened a video link with Trowa. "You still can't get him?"

"No, I can't get through at all." Duo could hear Trowa frantically pressing buttons.

"His entire Gundam's shut off." Heero popped up on Trowa's screen as well followed by Wufei.

"But why would he turn off his Gundam?"

"Could he have passed out?" Duo wondered allowed but Trowa shook his head.

"He was just telling me that he felt good enough to get back to Earth. He was literally in the middle of his sentence when we disconnected."

"And even if he had passed out, why would he completely shut off his Gundam? It doesn't…" Heero's voice was cut off by a new face popping into view. Each pilot felt relief at seeing Quatre's face but also grimaced at his horrible appearance.

"Guys…I…I can't make it. I've lost a lot of blood. You'll have to help me get to Earth. Just…hurry…" Quatre's face disappeared and both Heero and Wufei furrowed their brow; something wasn't right about this, especially the way Quatre had looked and acted. Nevertheless, there was no stopping Trowa as Heavyarms immediately clutched Sandrock's arm; everyone immediately changed into mission mode. Typing quickly, Heero contacted Relena and the others.

"Sally Po and Lady Une are already headed for the Earth. They'll meet us there." Despite feeling skeptical, Heero still covered all the bases for at least Trowa's sake.

"Somebody help?" Trowa's voice was strained and he couldn't hide his concern.

"I got 'cha buddy." Duo chimed in, grabbing Sandrock's other arm and the four continued on their journey to Earth though faster than before.

* * *

Quatre stared horrified as a video of him speaking to his friends played before his eyes. How could he even do that with his Gundam powered down? His friends couldn't have believed that! Yet, moments later, Quatre felt as he and Sandrock were being carried towards Earth. Quatre grimaced again but ignored the pain for the moment; he wanted to know what the hell was going on. 

"I know I heard a voice…I thought it was one of the guys though…" Quatre released a frustrated sigh as he ran possibilities through his head.

The voice laughed at him, which only made Quatre angrier.

"Who are you?"

_You don't recognize your own voice?_

Quatre blinked; he knew the voice was familiar but hadn't heard that indeed it was his own speaking to him.

"Okay…so you're me? But that still doesn't make sense."

_Oh no Quatre, you've still got it wrong. I'm not you, not yet at least._ Quatre raised an eyebrow only feeling more confused, so the voice went on.

_You see Quatre, I may not be human but I long for a life on Earth and now that you're too weak to stop me, I'm going to take your body to live it out._

"But that still doesn't tell me _who_ or _what _you are!" Quatre clutched his chair to stay steady as Sandrock entered Earth's atmosphere.

_I am ZERO. Prepare yourself Quatre._

Quatre's eyes grew extremely wide at this but he didn't have much time to contemplate what was happening as a blinding pain shot through him. Quatre grasped his head and couldn't hold in a terrifying scream as ZERO attempted to enter his body and mind. Trying his best to keep ZERO out, Quatre clutched his controls and threw himself against his restraints but it only resulted in opening his bleeding wound even more; he knew that he couldn't take much more of this before he passed out. Quatre's grip on his controls grew tighter but almost as quickly as it had begun, the pain disappeared leaving Quatre panting and grunting in more pain. Sweat trickled down the blonde's face as he tried to stay awake; his knuckles white from clutching his controls. Feeling as the other Gundams slowed down around him, Quatre knew that they would be on the ground soon and thanked Allah.

Moments later, Sandrock was secured in the hangar followed by Heavyarms and Deathscythe then Wing and Altron. Trowa was the first one out of his suit. He leapt to the catwalk in front of him and waited impatiently for Sandrock's cockpit to open. Duo was quick to join him and they heard as Wufei took off to "find the woman doctor."

"Come on Quatre…" Trowa quietly urged him on trying to hold himself back from jumping into action. He kept his eyes intently fixed on the door to Sandrock and didn't hear footsteps beside him. Trowa jumped when Heero approached and spoke.

"Why did you let Quatre pilot if he was injured this badly?" Trowa frowned at his question feeling somewhat responsible for letting this happen, even though he knew that was not Heero's intention.

"He pretty much forced me. I told him not to but he said that he would use the ZERO system to keep himself lively enough." Heero just nodded slightly but Duo cocked an eyebrow at that.

"ZERO? I thought he removed it before the last fight?"

"I thought so too but he said he left one disc inside just in case." Trowa took a small step closer as Sandrock's cockpit opened to reveal Quatre, clinging to the side to stay vertical. The pilots glared at the blood staining Quatre's space suit as well as the fact that he was clutching his head more than paying attention to his wound.

"Quat? Can you make it across?" Duo glanced to his side seeing Wufei and Sally jogging towards them with another nurse and a stretcher

Trowa, who had moved to stand at the very end of Sandrock's cockpit door, held his hand out ready to receive Quatre once he got there but the blonde was swaying a bit too much for his liking. Before anyone could react though, Quatre blinked a few times and had suddenly jumped from his Gundam to the catwalk. Even Heero's eyes flew open at his friend's sudden agility.

"You say he needs medical attention?" Sally looked to Wufei skeptical as they continued their jog towards the others but upon seeing Quatre land heavily on his feet and immediately collapse and fall forward, she understood that something was not right.

"Quatre!" Trowa cried out and ran to Quatre's side turning him so that he was lying on his back instead of putting more pressure on his abdomen. Duo flinched at the sight of Quatre's wound, which seemed to be gushing an endless amount of blood. Heero just watched as they waited for the stretcher but became intrigued as Quatre began panting heavily before his eyes opened again.

"Tro..wa…" The mentioned pilot quickly appeared in Quatre's vision assuring him that everything would be all right but Quatre shook his head. "No…Tro..Trowa…" Quatre closed his eyes tightly in pain and gripped his hand around one of Trowa's wrists. The Heavyarms pilot could only stare back desperately and frowned as blood trickled from the corner of Quatre's mouth.

"My head…ZE…RO…my…"

"Stop trying to speak." Sally hushed Quatre and immediately began tending to his wound signaling to the nurse to bring the stretcher over to her. Suddenly the doctor turned on the pilots with a frightening stare. "How did this even happen?"

Everyone looked to Trowa who again frowned before answering, "He was stabbed with a fencing sword by-." Heero's eyes immediately formed a glare.

"Dorothy Catalonia…" Before Trowa could question how Heero even knew that, Duo butted in.

"Wait, he was stabbed by a _fencing sword_? I didn't even think that was possible!"

"Only with a lot of force…" Sally spoke sadly, but knew that something just wasn't right as she moved Quatre onto the stretcher carefully. She told the nurse to go ahead without her turning to face Trowa. "Don't worry; I'll take care of him myself." She smiled as much as she could before running after the stretcher. Trowa only stared after her.

* * *

Hours passed and Quatre was still not completely stable leaving Trowa in a puddle of emotions he still didn't quite understand. Duo had stayed behind to wait with Trowa while Heero and Wufei left to meet Relena and Lady Une but not before insisting they be told as soon as Quatre was awake. Trowa and Duo had taken a few moments to discard their space suits before immediately going to the waiting room. Duo had started the wait by getting them some coffee and upon returning with the steaming liquid, he saw the pensive and worried look on Trowa's face; suddenly it dawned on him. He knew probably only one thing that could be on Trowa's mind that would so obviously show on his face. 

"You two had a moment, didn't you?" Trowa, who had resolved to staring straight ahead, looked up at Duo then knowing exactly what he was talking about. Duo grinned as he sat down and nudged Trowa's shoulder. "Congrats man! I can't believe it finally happened, Trowa Barton and Quatre Winner!"

Trowa let himself smile at that last part and thanked Duo for the coffee.

"Sooooooo, tell me how it happened. And don't leave out any dirty details!" Trowa chuckled at Duo's usual antics but was happy to distract his worried mind with such more wonderful thoughts.

----------Flashback---------

Holding the injured Quatre close to him, Trowa led the way to the Gundams and blushed at being so close to his crush. When they finally got to Heavyarms and Sandrock, Trowa tried to talk Quatre out of piloting in his condition.

"Quatre, why can't you just leave the fighting to us? Get you and Sandrock out of here but don't fight." Quatre sighed and leaned against the wall for support.

"Because Trowa, I owe it to myself, to outer space and Earth, and to you and the others to fight for this. I want to fight and you know you won't stop me." Sighing himself, Trowa took a step closer to Quatre.

"But Quatre…" His voice was shaky as he tried to calm his nerves, "I don't want you to get hurt anymore than you already are…I…"

"Trowa," Quatre fought with his words for a moment before blurting them out. "Trowa, I know that you love me."

The green eyed teen suddenly felt horrified at being caught but he kept his emotionless face staring at Quatre who then blushed.

"I'm sorry…I just, I can…sense it and I've just been holding back my own feelings in hopes that you would approach me first and that's not fair to you…" Quatre stopped abruptly as Trowa leaned in and kissed him passionately. As he pulled away, Trowa looked to Quatre fearfully but only found him smiling back at him. The green-eyed pilot returned the smile and, though there were no words spoken, the two pilots shared their feelings and accepted them. However, feeling lightheaded, Quatre lost his balance and again reminded them that he was injured and they were in a hurry. Trowa frowned at him.

"Quatre…"

"Trowa, I'll be okay." Quatre leaned up to peck Trowa's lips again before walking towards Sandrock. "I'm going to use ZERO to boost myself so I can stay more alert." Trowa's concerned eyes followed Quatre until he was safely into Sandrock's cockpit.

"I don't know if I like that idea."

"It's only one disc of the system and I think I can handle that much. Plus, I know you'll watch over me." Quatre smiled down at Trowa before the Heavyarms pilot finally agreed and got into his own Gundam.

-----------End Flashback------------

"Aw, you guys are just too cute." Duo continued to grin at Trowa. "I could never be that brave confessing to a certain pilot friend of ours."

Trowa smiled knowingly at Duo and nodded. Trowa had known of Duo's feelings for a while now. When Duo and Quatre had spent time together before going into space the first time, Duo had ended up spilling everything, then Quatre, unable to contain his excitement about it, spilled over and told Trowa, and fortunately Duo just couldn't stay mad at the two of them. "One day you will be. You'll get up the courage and finally tell Heero."

Duo just scoffed at Trowa's remark. "Yeah, if I could ever peel him away from Relena. Those two are totally in love…its okay though; I've come to accept it."

"Yeah right…" Trowa cocked an eyebrow at Duo who merely sighed.

"I know I know…I should stop tryin' to fool myself. Anyways, the main point is you should feel lucky that you and Quatre finally got it out in the open and you've got each other." Duo looked back to Trowa who was frowning.

"I just hope that he…"

"Tro! He's going to be fine and you know it." Duo shook his finger at Trowa sternly. "He's stronger than all of us; he can make it through this. Now drink more coffee!" Nodding to his friend, Trowa agreed and sipped at his coffee. Both boys were startled though as the door to the waiting room opened loudly and they looked up to find Sally staring at them. Trowa and Duo immediately stood and looked to her hopefully. She put her hand up to stop their question.

"He'll live. There's no worry…on that end." Trowa looked at the woman questioningly and, running her fingers through her hair, she went on. "I do have some questions for you though."

Duo, who had pulled the doctor to sit down in a chair across from them, interrupted her.

"Hold on a sec. Before we go answering any of your questions, tell us how Quatre really is. I don't like that vague 'he's fine' crap. I want details." Sally looked a little taken aback at Duo's actions but nodded and replied accordingly.

"Right now, he's stable. We were able to patch up both holes relatively easily and we found he had some but no serious internal bleeding. He'll need some major rest and healing time but he should be fine within the next few days."

"Thank god…all right, so what're the questions you had?" Duo smiled at her widely just satisfied with hearing that Quatre would be okay but Sally looked to them with a confused look on her face.

"Was there a struggle after he was wounded?" Both Sally and Duo looked to Trowa for that answer; Sally of course looked curious but Duo was naturally sporting a big grin and holding back the obvious applicable dirty comment. Trowa, ignoring Duo's smirk, furrowed his brow.

"Not that I know of…I mean I helped him get back to his Sandrock. Unless he was bumped around when we were trying to destroy Libra, why do you ask?"

"Well, generally a fencing sword isn't going to make that big of a hole in someone but it was obvious that Quatre's wounds had suffered some trauma. They were indefinitely torn in some places. I honestly don't think that only getting tossed around some inside his Gundam would've caused this…Are you sure that there wasn't a physical struggle?"

"I am almost completely positive that there wasn't."

"And there's something else." Trowa and Duo looked to Sally expectantly and the doctor was quick to reply. "Knowing Quatre's empathy, I ran a few tests on that end just to check and something about his brainwaves seemed off. Well, more off than usual anyway. I don't know…I just have a weird feeling…" The doctor was interrupted by her pager going off and she glanced at it oddly. "Anyhow, he's ready to see visitors whenever you're ready. I've got to get back to work." Sally stood from her seat, nodding to the boys and giving them Quatre's room number before departing.

After stopping by the cafeteria and telling Heero and Wufei that Quatre was going to be okay and was ready to see visitors, Duo and Trowa made their way to his room. They were both pensive on the information Sally had just told them and eager to ask Quatre if something had happened.

* * *

_Quatre…wake up Quatre…we have work to do._

Quatre frowned and wrinkled his nose at the voice in his head as he slowly opened his eyes. He didn't recognize where he was for a moment before the overabundance of white alerted him to the fact that he was in the hospital. Furrowing his brow, Quatre couldn't remember what had happened to him until the voice returned in his head.

_You were stabbed by Dorothy, remember Quatre?_

The memories returned and Quatre nodded to himself before lifting the sheets and confirming that he had a bandage wrapping over his stomach and back. Knowing that fact, Quatre was then left to ponder why he was talking to himself and why the voice in his head didn't quite correspond with his own thoughts. Quatre thought back to after he was stabbed, remembering his moment with Trowa and blushing, up until he saw Trowa's face telling him that Heero had done it and the war was over but beyond that he for some reason couldn't remember much.

_Must I explain myself again Quatre?_

Quatre's eyes widened as the memories somehow flowed back into his mind; his Gundam shutting down, the same voice speaking to him and the pain as ZERO entered his mind. Quatre gasped suddenly and sat up in shock but found himself immediately crying out in pain though he couldn't tell which was worse, his abdomen or his head. Just as he was beginning to pant, the door to his room flew open revealing Trowa and Duo stumbling in and looking to him worried.

"Quatre, what happened? Are you okay?" Trowa looked Quatre over helping him lean back slowly onto his hospital bed.

"Quat, you really shouldn't even being moving too much right now bud." Duo smiled to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder but Quatre waved off their concern having more important things to tell them.

"Don't worry, I just, I sat up too quickly is all." Quatre paused to wince again and grabbed his head. Trowa shot a look to Duo who merely shrugged back at him.

"Quatre? Your head hurts?" Trowa, who had sat down on the edge of Quatre's bed once the blonde was comfortable, leaned in to catch his eye.

"Yeah, I can't seem to shake this headache. Listen to me though; I need to tell you…" Again, Quatre stopped mid-sentence clutching his head even harder. Duo, remembering what Sally had told them, inquired.

"Quat, did something happen? Are you trying to tell us what happened that opened your wounds more?" Quatre looked a little confused for a moment at his question but remembered thrashing around his cockpit and decided to use this question to lead into what he was trying to say.

"Yes, something happened. I was in my cockpit, I was thrashing around because…" Quatre stopped, grunting in pain again. "Because…I was being…" Quatre couldn't get his words out while still grasping his head obviously in pain. Trowa and Duo, who were standing again at this point, were desperately trying to see what was wrong but Quatre wouldn't respond. Even though they were speaking, Quatre didn't miss hearing the voice in his head again.

_Now, now Quatre, I can't have you go and blab about me. That really should be my job._

Without warning, Quatre leaned forward and screamed before seeming to pass out, falling back onto his pillows with sweat dripping from his forehead. Trowa looked at Quatre with wide eyes before looking to Duo but finding his expression to be the same. The two were only awoken from their state of shock when Wufei spoke.

"What the hell just happened?" Trowa turned around to see that Wufei and Heero were standing in the doorway looking almost as shocked as they were.

"I don't know…how much did you see?"

"Enough." Heero spoke in his monotone voice as he stepped towards Quatre's bed and heard Wufei following in behind him. "What exactly was happening?" Heero looked to Duo as he spoke before looking back to Quatre.

"He was trying to tell us something…but he kept clutching his head in pain before he could get the words out. It's almost as if something didn't want us to find out whatever he wants to tell us." Duo looked to Trowa who nodded in agreement but everyone was shocked when Quatre's eyes flew open again. Blinking repeatedly, Quatre looked around the room at everyone as they stared at him. Slowly a smile started to form on the blonde's face as he lifted his hands, looking at them and touching various things. The other pilots just stared as Quatre explored his surroundings before Trowa grabbed one of his hands. Quatre looked up at him quickly.

"Quatre, are you all right? What just happened?" Quatre just blinked at him and furrowed his brow before looking around at everyone again. Looking back to Trowa, Quatre spoke innocently.

"I'm fine. I'm feeling pretty good actually." Quatre smiled to them before tearing his hand away from Trowa's to adjust the sheets on his bed. Trowa looked at him concerned before looking to Heero. The Wing pilot was merely glaring at the situation and looked up to all of them, motioning for them to meet in the hallway for a moment. Following suit, each pilot exited the room one by one. Trowa looked to Quatre oddly before leaving himself and closing the door behind him.

Watching Trowa closely, Quatre waited for the door to close completely before a smirk found its way to his lips.

_Now that I finally have control of this body, I can do whatever I want. All I have to do now is get by these goons that Quatre calls friends. Maybe I could wreak a little havoc along the way…_

ZERO put his hands behind his head, leaned back onto the hospital bed triumphantly, and waited for the others to return.

Meanwhile in the hallway, Duo couldn't help but play with his braid nervously as Heero addressed the group.

"Something's not right. You guys say that he was trying to tell you something but he couldn't seem to get his words out?" Duo and Trowa nodded to him simultaneously, trying to remember if anything else significant happened.

"He just kept grabbing his head in pain. Anytime he seemed close to telling us what it was, he would have to stop because he was in pain." Duo rubbed his forehead and sighed. "We were trying to ask him what might've happened to worsen his injury."

"Worsen his injury?" Wufei looked to Duo confused and Duo remembered that Heero and Wufei hadn't been there when Sally had talked to them but Trowa beat him to the punch.

"When Sally came to talk to us she told us that Quatre had somehow torn his wounds. She was asking us if anything had happened to shake him around or something."

"What did you tell her?"

"We said we didn't think so unless it happened while we were trying to destroy Libra but just now Quatre, before he passed out, said something about thrashing around in his cockpit. We just still don't know from what." Wufei frowned at this and they all looked to Heero as he spoke again.

"I might have an idea…I think that I'm going to go talk to Sally. Wufei should stay here with Quatre in case something happens and you two need to get some food and be ready if something does happen." Trowa frowned at the fact that he would be away from Quatre but had no choice when Duo linked their arms and began dragging him towards the cafeteria.

"Will do, oh Savior of the Universe. Keep us updated Fei!" Wufei cocked an eyebrow at the nickname but shrugged it off turning to Heero and nodding. Heero just nodded back before turning on his heel and going to find Dr. Po.

ZERO looked back to the door as it opened revealing Wufei. The blonde looked to him expectantly but the Chinese merely sat in the chair next to the bed and stared back at him. ZERO raised an eyebrow to him wondering why he wasn't like the others. Wufei then handed Quatre the remote for the television and spoke.

"Look, to be honest, I'm not going to baby you. I'm just here if you decide to freak out again." ZERO for some reason felt the urge to smile at the familiarity of Wufei's brash attitude but he stopped himself. He merely looked down at the remote before pointing it at the TV and pressing the on button. Seemingly satisfied, Wufei watched as Quatre sat back and began watching television peacefully. After a few minutes, Wufei resolved that Quatre seemed okay and decided to begin meditating knowing that if something did happen, he would still be alert enough to realize it.

ZERO merely smiled as Wufei closed his eyes and he began running scenarios through his system and Quatre's mind.

_Now that he's not much of a threat, all I have to do is find something worthwhile to go out and explore.

* * *

_

"Trowa, you've got to eat something." Duo pouted at Trowa until the uni-banged pilot gave in, grabbing an apple and a turkey sandwich. Duo shrugged knowing that he couldn't ask for much more and cheerfully paid the cashier for their lunches. After finding a table to sit at, Trowa and Duo ate in silence. Duo looked to Trowa sadly and decided that it was his job to try and cheer him up.

"Tro, I know that you're worried about Quat but I'm honestly more worried about Fei. I mean, do you realize?" Trowa cocked an eyebrow at his friend and Duo just held back a giggle. "Fei might actually gain a little heart by being in the room with Quat for too long. Can you imagine? I don't think I want to." Duo playfully shuddered and Trowa just rolled his eyes, though not managing to stop the smile from curling his lips. Feeling accomplished, Duo grinned.

"I got Trowa to smile, my life is complete!"

* * *

Thirty minutes later, ZERO was almost bored to tears. After waiting impatiently for Wufei to enter more of a trance-like state, ZERO was ready to get out of the there but without a destination, it was helpless. Therefore, here Quatre's body remained idly watching the TV for signs of anything. Rolling his eyes at commercials, he flipped through the channels until it landed on the latest news report. 

"Ex-OZ soldiers are currently holding hostages in a military office building. They haven't given any demands yet but they are serious about taking out a hostage if necessary. No one knows why they are…" ZERO smiled as the news reporter went on.

_A perfect challenge for the perfect soldier. Now all I have to do is get to that building._

ZERO waited for the woman on-screen to name the street on which the building was located before quickly and silently sneaking out of his room.

_That Chinese chump didn't even stir…why do you hang out with these idiots Quatre? Well, I guess you don't anymore._

Deep within his subconscious, Quatre's mind stirred as if he had simply been sleeping. However, upon the realization of his lack of bodily control, Quatre became frantic.

_I guess you're awake again, aren't you?_

**What is going on? How do you have control of my body? Where are you taking me?**

_Just on a little adventure Quatre, just sit tight and don't make me have to knock you out again._

With that said, Quatre kept his mouth shut while ZERO grabbed the first guy he found in normal clothing and shoved him into the nearest closet.

End

* * *

Well, there's chapter one. Again, this story is already completely written so once reviews start coming in, the next chapter should be up in no time. Hope that you enjoyed! 

Thanks for reading and please review!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. I merely borrow.

Author Note: Okay, so here's the second chapter. I apologize for the wait but I had my final exams and I was so stressed for time. The third installment should be out relatively quickly compared to this one. **Thank you to all of my reviewers and my readers!!!!! **And I hope that this chapter is just as good (or better) as the first.

:::And again:::

Yaoi!!! MalexMale relationships! 3x4 and one-sided 2x1 for the moment!!!

_Thoughts written in italic are spoken by ZERO_

**Thoughts written in bold are spoken by Quatre**

**Note:** Again, I tried to make everything as straight forward as I possibly could but this chapter might get a little more confusing as far as the whole Quatre/ZERO control issue so if there are any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer.

Enjoy!

* * *

From Hero to ZERO

Chapter Two

Duo raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. Trowa had left only minutes before to check up on Quatre but Duo decided to stay in the cafeteria a while longer where he was currently watching a scene between a mother and her child. They were in line to get some food and the child kept complaining about everything there was offered to eat. The mother, who looked overly stressed and tired, kept trying to reason with the child but it was all in vain. Duo sighed as the woman eventually gave in, buying her son everything he wanted.

'Damn spoiled kids…does he even realize that he's in a _hospital_ cafeteria? I wonder why those two are even here…' Duo was shaken from his thoughts at a voice next to him.

"We have a problem." Duo tore his eyes from the mother and child and looked to his left finding Wufei leaning his hands on his knees and panting somewhat.

"What's going on?"

"Quatre's gone. I don't know how the hell he got past me but he did." Duo furrowed his brow before looking to his friend questioningly.

"Were you sleeping again?" Wufei glared at him.

"I was NOT sleeping! I was meditating which makes me even more alert to any move he could've made. This is serious Maxwell." Rolling his eyes, Duo scrunched up his nose in thought before shrugging and standing.

"Well, it only somewhat surprises me that he got past you. He is a Gundam pilot."

"He's worse." Jumping some, Wufei and Duo looked over finding Heero standing with Sally who was holding Quatre's medical charts and an unreadable look. The Wing pilot continued without question.

"He's the ZERO system."

* * *

Trowa finally reached the hallway that Quatre's room was on and began walking towards the door until, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone else moving down the hallway. Trowa was shocked as he recognized the platinum blonde hair.

"Quatre?"

The Sandrock pilot turned shocked to Trowa and ZERO cursed under his breath somewhat. Trowa just continued to stare at him before he questioned him again.

"Quatre, what're you doing out of bed? And dressed? Where did you get clothes?" After stowing the guy's unconscious body in the closet, ZERO had stolen his shirt and pants as to not look like a patient. He was now clothed in a light blue button-up shirt and gray dress pants. ZERO panicked for a moment trying to decide on the best option for escape but his other half decided for him.

**Trowa!** Without warning, Quatre began jogging to Trowa without the consent of ZERO who could only stare wildly as its legs carried it toward the one person he was trying to avoid. Trowa blinked as Quatre leapt towards him and wrapped his arms around him but soon he smiled and hugged him back despite his confusion. Held at bay by something unknown, ZERO could only squirm as the situation unfolded and it fought for control once again. Closing his eyes tightly, Quatre held Trowa firmly while leaning in toward his ear.

"Trowa…help…" Trowa's eyes widened and he tried to pull away from Quatre, but the blonde only held him tighter.

"Quatre, what's wrong? Why do you need help? What from?" At the barrage of questions, Quatre found himself stumbling over his words and showing a moment of weakness that ZERO took advantage of eagerly. Quatre flinched in Trowa's arms and his grasp began to loosen from around his waist.

"Quatre?" Trowa looked to the side only seeing Quatre's blonde locks; he stared at them confused. Again, ZERO used the situation to his advantage as it regained total control.

The Heavyarms pilot gasped in pain, falling to the floor and clutching his stomach where Quatre had just punched him, and hard. Trowa looked up to his little one pitifully but Quatre just glowered down at him.

"Quatre, what's going on?" ZERO rolled his eyes at the mention of his now silenced again other half and kneeled down next to Trowa.

"I'll be sure to share your concern with Quatre the next time I see him." ZERO smirked at the horrified look on Trowa's face before he stood, turned and began running away. Still holding his stomach, the green-eyed pilot ran through his head what had just happened but could not think of any solid reason for Quatre's behavior.

'Heero seemed to have some idea…' With some new determination, Trowa stood again but not before furrowing his brow in concern. On the floor from where he stood and down the hallway in the direction Quatre had taken, there were small splotches of blood marking his trail. He sighed heavily before turning on his heel to find Heero.

ZERO, who had finally reached the exit of the hospital, noticed what was happening as well. It couldn't feel the pain, but the red stains were kind of a giveaway.

_Stupid human body…_

* * *

"What do you mean Quat's the ZERO system?" Duo was staring agape at Heero and Sally but the two remained calm despite the looks of confusion on their own faces.

"I mean that sometime between when we were trying to destroy Libra and when we landed on Earth, Quatre was overtaken somehow by the ZERO system in his Sandrock." Heero spoke in his 'mission monotone' as the pilots had begun to refer to it.

"How is that even possible?" Wufei looked completely baffled by this.

"I have no idea. I knew that something was different about Quatre the moment I saw him but I wouldn't have guessed a computer system taking over his body. I mean, I have no experience with this system at all. I thought you all might have some idea." It was Sally that spoke up that time. Her voice was laced with concern and frustration.

"We've all had some experience with ZERO and how it can affect our minds; unfortunately, Quatre's the only person who really knows the ZERO system in and out. After all, he built it."

"But Heero you pilot ZERO, can you even imagine this sort of thing happening? I mean, we're talking a computer system taking over a human being. If that's actually possible, I might never hack anything again…" Duo trailed off from his rant at seeing Trowa coming towards them quickly. "Uh oh…he found out that Quat's missing…" The others looked just in time for Trowa to approach.

"What is going on with Quatre?"

"Did you find him?" Wufei sounded somewhat guilty.

"Well, I saw him but he's gone now."

"Why didn't you stop him Barton?"

"Well, first of all, because he sucker-punched me in the stomach without warning."

"What?!"

"Then it wasn't Quatre." Everyone looked back to Heero. "It was ZERO."

"ZERO? As in, the ZERO system from the Gundams?" Trowa looked to Heero who nodded causing Trowa to curse under his breath.

"So the ZERO system has taken over Quatre's body…is Quat even…" Duo gulped but didn't get the chance to continue.

"No, Quatre's still in there." Everyone let out a small sigh in relief before Trowa continued. "That's why I was caught off-guard. When I first saw Quatre, he looked panicked but then he just ran towards me and hugged me. I thought that he was just frightened so I hugged back. He told me he needed help and I asked why but he punched me and left."

"So Quatre's there, he's just dormant…" Trowa nodded, understanding Wufei's comment but Duo needed a little more English.

"Um, for those of us not in the mood to translate, what?" Wufei rolled his eyes.

"I mean that right now, the ZERO system and Quatre are both contained within Quatre's body but ZERO is obviously the one in control. It's kind of like Quatre's taking a nap in his own body. Or at least, that's my best guess." Heero nodded in agreement with Wufei.

"Sounds pretty logical to me…especially considering we had no logic for it before now."

"So what do you we do now? I mean, Quat…er…ZERO's probably outside of the hospital by now. Where would he go?"

"Probably off to challenge something or someone. ZERO's main purpose is for use in a battle after all."

"Well, we need to figure it out fast. He's opened his wound again and if he's off into more danger, who knows what will happen." Duo winced at hearing this news and worry crossed his face as he remembered the utter brutally of when he encountered the ZERO system the first time. Wufei on the other hand, had been distracted by something.

"Fei…what're you lookin' at?" Everyone looked finding Wufei looking up above them and turned to look in the same direction. Their eyes landed on a television set on the wall behind them and made the same realization as Wufei. The channel was set on the same news channel reporting the ex-OZ soldiers holding hostages.

"That's what the TV was on in Quatre's hospital room. And I bet that's where we'll find him."

"That's not far from here; we might be able to stop him." Heero turned briefly back to the others before looking to Sally. "We're going to need guns." After rolling her eyes and sighing, Sally nodded to him and led the way.

"How did I know you would say that…"

* * *

After getting a few strange looks from people passing by, ZERO had decided to travel through the alleys instead; he looked down realizing that the lower left half of his shirt was almost completely soaked in blood.

**You're not going to be able to do much now.** ZERO rolled its' eyes.

_You mean to say, your body might not last. Don't forget, I don't feel the pain your body endures. I will most certainly survive all of this, I just might have to leave you and your body behind that's all. When did you even wake up anyhow?_

**Dammit ZERO, I won't let you do this…**

_You have no means to fight me off Quatre. You're just going to have to sit back and watch the show. _ZERO laughed at Quatre's growling in reply. _Oh, and by the way Quatre, Trowa was certainly concerned for you. I told him I'd pass along the message though I don't know if he heard me through his grunts of pain._

**What have you done to Trowa? ZERO! This is not happening, I can overcome this!** Quatre tried his best to push his way through but without the upper hand, ZERO squashed his attempts within an instant.

_Just stop trying and quit distracting me, you know you'll only end up killing yourself. Besides, we've arrived..._

ZERO looked up at the building briefly before readily storming inside, hearing people protesting behind him but ignoring them.

"What the hell is that kid doing? He looks like he's already been shot!" The people immediately heard gunfire from inside and had grim looks on their faces.

ZERO on the other hand, had already ducked for cover behind a wall though not before a bullet managed to just barely miss his leg, leaving a deep bleeding gash in its trail. Not even regarding his new wound, ZERO merely began calculating different scenarios, looking for the best route and the best way to obtain a weapon.

* * *

Around fifteen minutes later, Sally's van came to a screeching halt at the scene of the hostage situation and she and the four pilots emerged from the vehicle. Trowa looked around worriedly at hearing people still talking about some kid running into the building not too long ago.

"He's in there; we've got to go now." Heero nodded to Trowa and turned to Sally.

"Look, we need to handle Quatre alone but start searching the place for survivors. Find the hostages and get them outta there." Sally nodded to him before running into the building.

"Let's go. He's probably on the one of the higher levels by now."

The four pilots ran into the building but halted at the sight of the bodies scattered on the floor. Duo grimaced at the overwhelming smell of blood in the air.

"Quatre did all this?"

"ZERO did, don't forget that Quatre's not himself right now." Trowa spoke while carefully observing the scene before him. "You can tell that ZERO calculated every move and every kill…"

"Shouldn't we be going? If these are only the preliminary guards…who knows what the other floors look like." Nodding to Wufei's statement, the other pilots quickly made their way to the stairwell.

* * *

"You're some kind of monster! Why are y-!" The last OZ soldier's trembling voice was silenced when a bullet gracefully embedded itself in his forehead. His body fell to the ground slowly merely adding to the horror in Quatre's mind.

After obtaining a gun, plenty of ammo and finding his way upstairs, ZERO had taken out every ex-OZ soldier that had gotten in his way with ease…though not without further injury. Quatre's body, while still bleeding from the wound in his abdomen and the cut on his leg, was now also bleeding from a gunshot wound in his shoulder and various other cuts all over his body including one on his forehead. If he had had control of his body, the Sandrock pilot would've shivered in discontent.

**You don't even care about who they are, why they're doing this. I don't think their intentions are good either but you just shoot them down as if they aren't human beings!**

_I am protecting myself and this body for as long as it can withstand it. If they stand in my way then they are my enemy and I will kill them, no questions necessary._

ZERO's thoughts were interrupted by a warning shot from behind him. Immediately turning, gun pointed, ZERO was ready to fire but stopped at seeing who was standing before him.

"Well, well, look who decided to show."

Heero was standing at the forefront gun aimed and ready to fire if need be. Wufei was to his right while Trowa and Duo were to his left holding their guns up as well, though not quite as poised as Heero. Trowa was growing more worried by the second; Quatre looked absolutely horrible.

"Quatre! Put the gun down!" Trowa tried his best not feel hurt when Quatre rolled his eyes at him and stared him down before speaking, irritation clear in his voice.

"Quatre can't really hear you right now, and before we even get into all of this; I know that you're not going to shoot me, your dear friend, so why don't you run along." ZERO lowered his weapon and looked as though he was about to turn and leave but Wufei's voice stopped him.

"ZERO, don't move a muscle." Wufei thought it was weird glaring at Quatre the way he was but he knew he had no choice. "Now why don't you put down the gun, you've already taken everyone out in the building."

"Not everyone. There's still you." ZERO smirked at the pilot's confused faces and raised his arm again. They wanted to be angry and retaliate but how could they when they were facing one of their closest friends? Heero just kept his eyes open, succeeding in noticing the slight tremor in Quatre's arm as ZERO pointed his gun.

"How do we know that Quatre's even still in there anyhow?"

"Wufei, don't even say that." Trowa spat out the words almost frightened at the thought before looking to the blonde in front of them. "I know he's in there…he just has to overcome the system somehow…"

"Didn't I already say it? Quatre's not home! He's deep into his own sub conscience just waiting for me to take over completely." ZERO yelled across to them angrily. Heero's glare deepened but he maintained his stature.

"That's…not possible!" Duo clenched his fists angrily but ZERO just smirked all over again.

"Well, two entities cannot share one body for long, so I guess that we shall see which of us is the stronger." However, even as ZERO was speaking, Quatre's body was visibly trembling. Before even ZERO could react, Quatre's knees buckled and he fell to the floor. As soon as the gun fell from Quatre's hand, Heero had run forward, retrieved it and was now kneeling in front of ZERO.

"You're not as strong as you think you are; you get wounded just the same as Quatre." ZERO merely smirked up at him.

"Well, if Quatre is so strong, I'll leave him to handle this one…" Heero's glare intensified more as he watched Quatre's eyes roll back in his head briefly while ZERO swapped itself out with Quatre's real self. After blinking several times, Quatre seemed to realize that he was back in control and tears formed in his eyes. Heero immediately and carefully pulled Quatre into his arms and cradled him. Trowa was instantly at Heero's side when Quatre let out a weak cry of pain.

"Little One, is it really you?"

"Trowa…" With tear stained cheeks, Quatre looked up to Trowa reaching his hand forward to clutch the closest body part he could reach. Trowa grabbed Quatre's reaching hand and looked to him concerned.

"Trowa…don't let me kill anyone else…" With one last squeeze to Trowa's hand, Quatre passed out and his body went limp. Trowa's eyes grew wide but soon he closed them and put on a brave face. Looking up to Heero, he saw Heero's saddened eyes staring down at the small bundle in his arms.

"We need to get back to the hospital immediately." Still holding Quatre's hand, Trowa followed Heero as he began walking towards Wufei and Duo who were still too shocked to do much. Quickly, Wufei snapped out of it and turned to run and 'get that blasted doctor' for Quatre again. Duo glared at Quatre's wilted form and Heero's distressed expression accompanying it, making a sudden connection but deciding not to voice it just yet. Instead he glanced compassionately to Trowa and followed them back out to the van.

Sally and Wufei were ready to receive Quatre after informing them that the hostages were out of the building and all were safe.

"Any surviving soldiers?" Heero nodded in response to his own question upon seeing Sally's grim look and cautiously placed Quatre in the van before climbing in himself followed closely by Trowa.

"Get us back to the hospital."

* * *

Trusting Quatre in Sally's medical hands again, the four pilots found themselves sitting in the waiting room doing just as the room intended; waiting. However, silence never descended among the pilots well when the situation was so obviously tense and they didn't have the ever-positive Quatre around to ease them from their minds' wanderings.

"What are we going to do?" Duo was, as usual, the first to crack and break the silence. His eyes met with sullen faces and the braided pilot sighed in aggravation. "There has to be something!"

"Duo, we're dealing with something we've never dealt with before. Yes, we've all piloted with the ZERO system and we all know its' affects while inside a Gundam but we have no idea how much of that is even applicable in this situation." Duo sighed more at Heero's once again monotone voice.

"Well, we were able to figure out where he was when he left the hospital…there must be a clue somewhere. Let's go over the facts again."

"Quatre is lost somewhere inside his own mind and is being forced to watch as ZERO parades around in his body killing people and threatening his closest friends. We know that ZERO was able to overtake Quatre sometime between the time we destroyed Libra and when we landed on Earth but we still don't know how." Wufei rubbed his forehead as he spoke and Duo took in his words carefully.

"Well, let's think back for a second. We destroyed Libra, Heero saved the world, and Trowa told us that Quatre was wounded and so we started heading towards Earth until Quatre's Gundam shut off…wait…that must've been when it happened!" Heero looked to Duo pensively before nodding.

"That could be right…his Gundam shut down but then we all received that message from him mysteriously. ZERO must've taken advantage of Quatre's weakness in being injured though I don't think we'll ever know how a computer program transferred from a machine to a person."

"But when ZERO did transfer over, that must've caused Quatre to jerk around in his cockpit and open his wounds. That was the struggle that Quatre was trying to tell us about at first…before ZERO took over his body completely." Trowa's soft voice snuck its way into the conversation and filled in a few more holes in the story. "But the question still remains…how do we get rid of ZERO?"

Each pilot began thinking up individual schemes but none seemed to stick until Duo broke the silence again.

"What if we destroy Sandrock?" The three other pilots contemplated this for a moment but Heero soon shook his head.

"We don't even know if ZERO is linked to the Gundams anymore, plus even if it was, that still might not do it. Quatre needs to overcome the system within himself just as he did within the suit." Duo wasn't satisfied with Heero's response, worry growing evident on his face. He knew his fellow pilots pretty well so he had a feeling that he knew where this conversation was headed. Sighing again, Duo spoke in an annoyed tone.

"Well, what if he can't?"

"If the _system_ can't be destroyed then the only other option…"

"No, that's not an option at all so don't try it Chang. It's a last resort, that's what that is."

"Duo…" At hearing Heero's protesting voice, Duo nearly lost it. He thought back to the culpable look on Heero's face as he cradled Quatre and grew even angrier with the Wing pilot.

"Don't even try it Heero, you're to blame for this in the first place! I saw the guilt in your eyes…You're the one that forced Quat to use the system in the final battle! It's your fault that the stupid thing was in his Sandrock to begin with!" Duo stopped himself long enough to sigh heavily before he stood and turned to the door. "I won't sit here with you fools any longer. Quatre won't die by our hands or ZERO's. Think of something better."

The door slammed shut behind Duo. Trowa had remained silent through the last part of the conversation but walked out right after Duo did, taking everything in for what is was. Heero tried to hide his trembling as he stood as well, headed for the bathroom. Wufei just watched as they filed out one by one and went back to his own thoughts on the matter.

Heero's body trembled even more as he leaned his head over the toilet, depositing what was left in his stomach from that day. Finally, when things seemed to subside, Heero wiped the saliva from his lips and leaned against the bathroom wall heavily.

"It's not my fault…is it? Oh Duo…"

* * *

Trowa slowly followed behind Duo as he stormed down the hospital hallway; the green-eyed pilot figured where he was going already so there was really no need to try to catch up with him now. Fulfilling Trowa's suspicions, Duo made a sharp right turn and pushed open the doors to the courtyard. He hoped that maybe the beautiful gardens outside could calm him down enough to apologize for the things he had just said. Duo wasn't surprised when Trowa came up behind him.

"I know that what I said was wrong and I am going to apologize but…I just can't believe they would even consider killing Quat over this. Especially when we haven't even explored other options!" Duo tried to keep his voice somewhat low but Trowa could still tell that his friend was extremely upset. Trowa nodded in agreement but also had a counter argument.

"Duo, you know I agree with you, and I'm sure the others too, but we both know the training we all went through and why that conclusion would come into the picture." Duo sighed aggravated and sat down harshly onto a nearby bench.

"I know…ugh!" Duo rested his head back against the bench. "These are times when I wish I didn't love that guy so I could just yell at him and not care…but that'll never happen. I just hope now that he doesn't kill me." Trowa sat down on the bench next to Duo and smiled some.

"He won't kill you. He knows better than that." Duo cocked an eyebrow at Trowa doubtfully but he just returned the look. "If he got rid of you he'd have two killer pilots on his every move. Me and Quatre would never let him live that one down." Trowa thought for a moment before speaking again, "You should still apologize though; I think you hurt Heero's pride some."

Duo nodded idly, obviously pensive as well. "I know. I just let my emotions get to me too easily sometimes. After a few more minutes of fresh air, I'll go back in and apologize to him."

The braided Deathscythe pilot kept talking aloud to himself unknown to the fact that his companion had stopped listening. With a contemplative expression, Trowa thought on the last few sentences Duo had said.

"Emotions…"

* * *

Heero reentered the waiting room finding Wufei still alone inside. The Chinese teen briefly looked up to Heero and furrowed his brow at his friend's grim expression. Deciding to let Heero come to him if he needed, Wufei returned to his own thinking and waited, though he didn't have to wait long.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" Raising an eyebrow, Wufei looked back to Heero who had taken a seat in one of the chairs on his right.

"Mind if I ask why?" Heero blinked for a second but wasn't all that surprised at the question. Even though Wufei had grown closer to all of them since they had all teamed up, he probably still didn't feel completely acclimated to the group.

"Because I trust that you won't hold anything back." At this, Wufei only smirked.

"That and the others are either in surgery or upset with you?"

"Yeah, that too." Heero did have to give him that. Wufei just shook his head and sighed, obviously pensive on the same topic.

"I know what you're going to ask. And, well, I think we all know that, besides you, Quatre was the only one strong enough to handle any small dose of ZERO that you gave him." Wufei glanced to Heero thoughtfully before turning away again. "Duo's just upset for his friend but he trusted your judgment too. He just doesn't want to admit it right now." Wufei looked back to Heero finding a small smile on his face.

"Thanks Wufei."

However, the bonding moment was interrupted abruptly as the fire alarm sounded through the hospital. Heero and Wufei were immediately on their feet and headed for the door. They walked into the hallway and began dodging people as they rushed for the exits but didn't go there themselves just yet. Heero looked to his right when he saw Duo and Trowa running through the crowd towards them. Duo stopped at Heero's side, staring at him worriedly.

"What's going on? Is there really a fire?"

"I'm not sure; there's no smoke and there was no explosion that I heard…"

"Do you think it might have something to do…?" Trowa stopped talking when a voice sounded loudly over the intercom system.

"This is not a test. Please proceed quickly and carefully to the nearest exit."

"Is that Sally?"

"All employees remember what you were trained to do. Patients come first so if you can, **help** those who can't make it on their own to get out of the building. Remember that we have a **zero** tolerance about this; leave no patient in the building. If you are located on the **fourth floor** or above, take the stairwell. There's an exit on the third floor in the back of the building. **Be safe and be quick**!"

Heero looked to his fellow pilots hastily. "Let's go. ZERO's loose on the fourth floor, probably armed." The others nodded to him understanding Sally's code as well and, after quickly retrieving their guns, ran down the hallway toward the stairwell.

Without hesitation, Heero kicked open the stairwell door and held his gun ready as he scanned for sight of Quatre. After nodding to the others, he proceeded down the hallway stealthily hearing the others quietly following. They all stopped abruptly at the sight of blood in small droplets starting at a doorway that was currently wide open. Glancing around the door frame and into the room, Heero lowered his weapon at the sight of an injured Sally.

"Sally, what happened?" Heero, Duo and Trowa slipped into the room silently while Wufei stayed by the door to keep an eye out. Sally was leaning against the wall on the floor in the opposite corner, blood gushing from a wound in her leg. She smiled when she saw the three pilots walking towards her.

"I'm glad you got my message, though you know Quatre heard it too."

"Sally, how badly are you wounded?" Trowa tried to assess the damage but Sally just waved them all away.

"Look, I'm all right, just a cut on the leg. I just came in to check on Quatre when suddenly he slipped out of his bed, swiped my leg with a scalpel and stole my gun. I would've gone after him myself, but the cut was already bad enough without my opening it more so I ran to the PA system." She paused to hide her grimace of pain before looking back to pilots seriously. "You don't have time to waste here with me, go and find Quatre now! I only need to bandage my leg and I'll be ready to follow."

Unable and unwilling to fight her request, Heero nodded to her ushering the other two back towards the door. He turned back to Sally briefly.

"Stay on this floor. We might need you so be ready." Sally barely had time to nod before Heero and the others were out the door. Looking down to the droplets of blood again, the pilots cringed but began to follow them.

-End

* * *

Well, I hope that you enjoyed the second chapter! Please read and review! The next chapter should be up soon.

Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing; never have, never will but will always dream.

Author Note: All right, well, here is the last chapter! No specific notes for this one really though I am terribly sorry for the wait!! I had very limited internet over the holidays.

**Thank you as always to my readers and especially my reviewers.**

**PS - **Sorry if you got about 3 different e-mails about my updating. I usually get the same e-mail immediately after I update and when I didn't I tried removing and re-adding the chapter a few times. Sorry!!!

::Last Time::

Yaoi!!! MalexMale relationships!

_-------Thoughts written in italic are spoken by ZERO_

**-------Thoughts written in bold are spoken by Quatre**

Enjoy!

* * *

From Hero to ZERO

Chapter Three

* * *

On the fifth floor, ZERO was having no luck in finding regular street clothes this time around.

"That vile woman…she managed to get everyone out of the hospital. Damn…I can't exactly walk around in a hospital gown."

**Why not just give up then?**

"Shut up Quatre! I'm sick of your wry comments."

**Then maybe you should find a new body to control, especially considering the trail of blood that led my friends right to you.**

"ZERO! Drop your weapon!" Sighing heavily in annoyance, ZERO turned to find the four pilots behind him again. He noticed the trail of blood Quatre had just mentioned and cursed under his breath. Heero just glared keeping his gun aimed and ready.

"I'm getting really sick and tired of all five of you Gundam pilots."

"Oh yeah? Well until you leave Quatre alone, we'll be following you everywhere. So drop the damn gun!" Duo shouted to ZERO in a vain attempt to end things quickly but ZERO just smiled.

"You won't get the chance. I could kill you all here and now if I wanted to!"

"Then why not get it over with already?" Only Heero would make a demand like that but ZERO was up for the challenge.

"I just haven't decided who to take out first."

**It doesn't matter who you shoot because the others will only fight back harder. You don't stand a chance ZERO! If you haven't even been able to suppress me, then you obviously won't beat them!**

"Shut up Quatre! Do not try my patience!" Everyone looked to ZERO oddly but Trowa immediately perked up.

"Quatre?" ZERO looked to Trowa and the green-eyed pilot almost saw that old glint in Quatre's eye; he knew his blonde prince was in there. "Quatre, you have to fight ZERO! You have to overcome it again; if you use your emotions, you can beat it!"

"That's the one." ZERO smirked, aiming precisely. Trowa's eyes grew wide as the barrel of ZERO's gun turned in his direction and he froze up. Trowa flinched as the gun fired and his knees buckled as two strong hands pushed him out of the way just in time.

As Trowa caught himself before falling completely to the floor, he looked behind him frightened and he noticed that for the first time, Heero wasn't paying attention to the enemy in front of him. In fact, Heero was also on the floor staring wide-eyed at the sight before him.

"Duo…"

Clutching his now bleeding upper arm, the braided Deathscythe pilot grunted in pain as everyone looked to him in shock. "What the hell are you all doing? There's still a gun pointed to your backs!" Duo held back any further pained noises and stopped talking completely as a trembling Heero drew nearer to him a saddened look in his eyes.

"Duo…I…"

Trowa looked back to ZERO with a glare as the system rolled its eyes. Snapping out of his shocked state, Wufei again ran to get 'that blasted woman doctor who's never in the right place when you need her.' Behind them, the three pilots heard ZERO speak.

"It could've been perfect; something just always has to get in the way."

**It was perfect…how did I not think of this before?** Trowa kept his eyes on Quatre's body and quirked an eyebrow as a look of confusion spread across his face.

"What are you talking about now?" Trowa nudged Heero as ZERO began speaking aloud to itself. Duo also tried his best to listen in on what they could hear of the conversation.

**You shooting Duo was perfect…looks like I've gained the upper hand now ZERO. **Quatre's voice was shaking terribly but it was also full of determination. ZERO just shook his head.

"Are you serious? I just SHOT one of your friends! How in the hell would that give you the upper hand Quatre?" ZERO, still without realizing, was speaking aloud and the pilots stared over understanding now whom ZERO was talking to; they only wished they could hear Quatre's side of the conversation as well.

**Well ZERO if you want my body so badly…then you'd better get used to ALL OF IT!**

ZERO didn't have time to react as blinding pain shot through his chest. He clutched the shirt around his heart, instantly dropping his gun and panting as the pain grew worse with each passing moment. Trowa's eyes flared with determination and he shared his epiphany with the other two.

"Quatre's empathy…he's using it to distract ZERO!" Not needing any more explanation, Heero immediately reentered mission mode and rolled towards Quatre, kicking away the gun ZERO had dropped in the process. ZERO could only stare wildly down the barrel of Heero's gun as more pain shot through Quatre's body. From across the floor, Duo and Trowa watched extremely concerned. Trowa was about to close his eyes in anticipation until, through gritted teeth, Duo yelled to Heero.

"Don't you dare pull that trigger!" Heero couldn't stop himself from being distracted and turned to look at Duo. Naturally, ZERO took advantage of this, jogging in the opposite direction just trying to get away. Heero cursed as he stood but turned still to Duo with a confused expression.

"Duo…look I'm not going to sit here and let ZERO shoot all of us and I'm also not going to let Quatre be taken away from us by a computer program…even if it means killing him." Duo frowned as Heero followed Quatre down the hallway he had just run down. The braided pilot immediately turned to Trowa and furrowed his brow regretfully.

"You have to go after him." Trowa felt immediately torn; he felt more inclined to follow Quatre of course but he couldn't just leave an injured Duo behind. Trowa had no time to contemplate though as Duo read his mind.

"Trowa, there's no time. Sally and Wufei will be here soon, I'll be fine. You have to go after Quatre and Heero!" Noting the urgency and Duo's eyes and his own heart, Trowa nodded and shot up to his feet. Before he turned to leave, Duo spoke once more.

"Keep them both safe." With another brisk nod and a brief smile, Trowa secured his gun and was running after Heero and Quatre. Duo stared after his friend for as long as he could before pain overtook him and he shut his eyes, lying on the floor helplessly.

* * *

As more of Quatre's injuries continued to open and bleed profusely, ZERO found itself unable to move and fell to the floor leaning against a nearby wall. Hearing Heero's footsteps close behind, the system began running scenarios. Heero stopped a few feet away from Quatre's body gun aimed and ready if need be. 

"ZERO, give it up. Quatre's empathy is stronger than you'll ever be. He will win this battle." ZERO merely smirked back at Heero, the perfect plan already in mind.

"Maybe you're right Heero but I guess we shall see. Bye for now." Heero cursed loudly and watched for the second time as ZERO swapped itself with Quatre before moving a little closer. After a gasp and shudder in pain, Quatre slumped forward breathing heavily. After a moment, his head shot up again staring at Heero intently.

"I'm sorry Heero…tell me Duo's okay. And Trowa…" At seeing Quatre's suddenly tear-stained cheeks and puffy red eyes, Heero knew for sure that it was Quatre again and moved to kneel on the floor in front of him.

"You can't worry about that right now; focus Quatre. We need to get you to Sally, can you move?"

"I tried to stop it Heero," The Wing pilot jumped when Quatre grabbed hold of his shirt. "I know that you…You have to believe that I tried…just tell me that Duo will be okay, please." Heero furrowed his brow at his friend and felt himself blush a little.

"Duo's going to be fine; the wound really didn't look too bad." After hearing the news, Quatre nodded and swallowed hard feeling his eyelids grow heavy. Heero, at seeing Quatre fading, moved closer trying to keep his attention.

"Quatre, you've got to stay awake and keep control." Quatre frowned and more tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Heero, I can't. ZERO's just too strong…Heero…you have…you have to kill me Heero!" Quatre clutched Heero's tank top tighter as he closed his eyes in pain. "If you don't, this will just keep happening!"

The Wing pilot could only stare as he tried to sort through his spinning thoughts; the grief he would put Trowa and Duo through, his own guilt. Finally, his thoughts settled on memories of the time he spent with Quatre during the war and the friendship that had formed and grown since then. With a new resolve, Heero put his gun onto the ground and put his hand over top of Quatre's on his chest.

"Quatre, I won't kill you! You are strong enough to fight this! You've conquered the system before and you can do it again. We need you to Quatre." Heero stared desperately at Quatre but found that the blonde was on the verge of passing out. He hoped that Sally was ready as he moved enough to pick Quatre up.

_He fell right into my trap. You played your part well Quatre._

Just as Heero was about to scoop Quatre into his arms, the blonde's eyes shot open wide.

"No Heero!" Heero stopped in his tracks and stared back at Quatre thinking he had put the other teen in pain. He only pulled his eyes away when he heard heavy footsteps behind him. Running down the hallway, Heero saw Trowa and breathed a little in relief.

"Trowa, hurry. He's not doing well." Trowa stepped up the pace when he heard Heero's voice but stopped almost immediately. As Heero turned back to face Quatre again, he noticed the evil smirk on the blonde's face. Before he could even blink, ZERO picked up Heero's discarded gun and slammed it into Heero's temple effectively knocking the Wing pilot unconscious.

"Dammit…" Trowa ran once again as Quatre stood from his slumped position on the floor, aiming the gun for Heero. He knew now that it was up to him to do the impossible.

"Quatre!"

**Trowa! Help me!**

ZERO rolled its eyes at the shows of affection and ignored the twinge of pain from Quatre's empathy. ZERO kept the gun pointed to Heero but spoke to Trowa.

"Why don't you just give up? You will never get rid of me." Trowa ignored ZERO altogether and tried again to talk to Quatre.

"Quatre don't let ZERO fool you! You have more control than you think! ZERO is just a program to make decisions, don't forget that." ZERO interrupted Trowa with a laugh.

"You think that you're little friend can even hear you? He's long gone by now!"

"Use your emotion Quatre! You can overcome it. We all believe in you! I know you can." Having heard enough, ZERO turned his gun from Heero to Trowa.

"If you're not going to shut up then I'll do it for you."

**No! Trowa! You won't hurt him again!**

ZERO was seconds from pulling the trigger when Quatre's empathy kicked in full force again. With his speed and agility, Trowa immediately dashed toward his love and rose to kick the gun from his hand; however, he couldn't move away in time before ZERO had Trowa's neck clutched between Quatre's hands. Trowa coughed and gasped for air, dropping his own gun to the floor as well as his hands grabbed onto Quatre's.

"Quatre…keep fighting…you're almost there…"

"Will you never shut up?" ZERO tightened its grip around Trowa's neck as the boy gradually grew paler, his eyes drifting closed. Trowa was feeling dizzy with each passing second; he knew that it wouldn't be long before he passed out but he managed to speak one last time.

"I love you Quatre."

**NO!**

The Heavyarms pilot could feel himself drifting away and was almost ready to give up when suddenly Quatre's hands left his neck. Unable to hold himself up, Trowa fell to his knees taking in gulps of air. Through his bang he saw Quatre's feet moving away from him and looked up to see what was happening. Quatre was clutching his head tightly as his feet stumbled beneath him. His eyes closed tightly and pain flashed across his face.

"What's going on? This can't be happening! I'm in control! You don't exist anymore Quatre!" ZERO's frantic tone rang through the hallway followed by a pained cry. Pulling tightly at his hair, Quatre fell to his knees causing more stress to his injuries and another cry of agony. Trowa flinched as he watched Quatre's actions and for the first time, he actually heard Quatre's side of the argument.

"ZERO…you won't control me anymore…get out of my head!" Another cry of pain sounded as Quatre's body trembled and thrashed about. And just as it happened the first time, almost as abruptly as it had started, Quatre stopped moving, panting heavily as he fell forward onto his hands. Hoping that it wasn't another trick but unable to stop himself anyhow, Trowa was instantly at Quatre's side.

"Quatre?" Still breathing heavily, the blonde Sandrock pilot looked up to Trowa and nodded before he was engulfed in a bear hug. Quatre was happy to collapse in Trowa's arms as his body shook uncontrollably. Trowa pulled his love close to him and cradled him in his arms carefully. Quatre stared up at him longingly but obviously exhausted.

"Trowa…I love you too…don't leave me." Trowa held the blonde tightly as he shook. He heard footsteps down the hallway and turned to see Wufei heading towards him. With a sigh of relief, Trowa kissed Quatre's forehead and cupped his cheek softly.

"It's okay Quatre, it's over now. I'm going to take care of you, just hold on for me, okay?" Quatre nodded and Trowa began to scoop him into his arms. Wufei skidded to a halt next to the two of them looking for the report.

"Quatre's back for now at least. He knocked Heero unconscious. If you can grab him, I've got Quatre." Wufei nodded and immediately moved to Heero's side, carefully throwing the Wing pilot over his shoulder.

"Sally's already downstairs with Duo. Hopefully she's done patching him up so she can get to Winner and Yuy quickly." Trowa nodded as he secured Quatre in his arms.

"All right, let's go."

* * *

Duo stared longingly at Heero's unconscious form lying in the bed before him willing the other boy to wake up. Once his arm had been bandaged and put in a sling, Sally and the others had gone somewhere else to take care of Quatre leaving Duo to watch over Heero and wait for him to wake up. The braided pilot furrowed his brow in worry as he continued to watch his comrade's chest slowly rise and fall. 

"Oh Heero…just come back to me." With his good arm, Duo brushed the bangs from Heero's face but he flinched noticeably when Heero's eyes twitched. Standing from his chair, Duo leaned in a little closer and watched as slowly the Wing pilot's eyes drifted open. Duo couldn't contain himself and smiled with joy. Heero lifted his hand up to nurse his temple as he sat up in the hospital bed.

"What happened?"

"Apparently you got knocked out by ZERO pretty good." At hearing Duo's voice, Heero completely turned to the Deathscythe pilot swinging his legs off the side of the bed.

"Listen, Heero, about earlier; I'm really sorry, I didn't mean the things that I said to you. I mean, if you hadn't put ZERO in Sandrock, we'd all probably be dead, right?"

"Duo…you're okay?" Duo looked back at him a little confused but nodded anyway.

"Yeah, the bullet scratched against my bone a little so I have to where the sling but overall I'm just fine…are you feeling okay?" Duo was about to reach up and feel Heero's forehead when Heero stopped his hand and held it within his own. The braided teen looked to Heero confused but saw raw emotion burning behind Heero's eyes.

"Heero?"

"Duo…" Heero could feel his hands trembling around Duo's but he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Duo, I have to tell you something. I…seeing you earlier, after ZERO shot you, it just…it made me realize…I…"

"Heero, what is it?" Duo looked to Heero worriedly but the Wing pilot stared intensely back at him. Throwing risk out the window, Heero quickly closed the distance between them pressing his lips to Duo's firmly; but before Duo could really respond or not, Heero pulled himself away and spoke.

"Duo, before now I didn't know what to think or how I felt about you and if I'm completely in the wrong, just tell me but I just know now…the thought of losing you today…I won't let that happen ever, I can't. I…I care too much about you to let it happen."

Heero dared a glance to Duo and found his friend's expression set to complete and utter shock. Duo further confirmed Heero's fears of rejection when he pulled his hand from within the Wing pilot's. Feeling his cheeks flush, Heero was about to turn away embarrassed when, to his surprise, Duo cupped his cheek and leaned in for another kiss. This time around Heero lingered a little longer letting them both enjoy the tender feeling. After a moment, the two pulled apart again and Duo spoke in a sheepish tone.

"I didn't mean to worry you…I just had to make sure that kiss wasn't just in my imagination." Heero smiled some at him and nodded.

"It's very real Duo." The braided pilot still looked confused though, pulling away slightly.

"But…you…Relena?" Grabbing hold of Duo's hand and pulling him back again, Heero shook his head firmly at the unspoken question.

"I do care for Relena and I look after her because she was the first person to show me that people care about me." Heero paused for a moment, looking deeply into Duo's violet eyes. "Relena's my good friend and I'll keep looking after her and all of the other Gundam pilots because you all helped to change me, especially you…which is why you're never leaving my sight." Duo chuckled at Heero, leaning in for another small kiss. Resting his hands around Heero's waist, Duo looked up at him thoughtfully.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this." Again, Heero leaned closer to Duo their noses barely touching; he was about to go in for another passionate kiss when they were interrupted.

"Well, I'm glad that you two finally got your acts together." Glancing toward the door, the pair saw Wufei smirking at them. Duo blushed some and turned away but Heero kept Wufei's stare.

"How's your head?"

"I'll live; how's Quatre doing?" Duo turned back to Wufei as he contemplated the answer to Heero's question. After a moment of considering, the Chinese turned on his heel and called back to his two friends.

"Why don't you come see for yourselves." After assisting Heero in hopping down from his bed, the two were treading quickly after Wufei as he led the way to Quatre's room. For the second time in that span of two minutes, the Altron pilot walked in on two boys kissing.

"Well…I guess this means I need a girlfriend now." As they parted, Trowa and Quatre blushed some and turned to Wufei apologetically; however, at seeing Heero and Duo, Quatre's eyes lit up.

"Duo, Heero; how are you feeling?" Quatre's voice was dripping with concern and Duo was ready to elaborately explain how they were considerably better compared to him but Heero distracted him by wrapping his arm around Duo's shoulders.

"We're doing just fine." Sufficiently sidetracked, Duo grinned at both Trowa and Quatre who smiled back knowingly. Before long though, the braided teen looked to Quatre seriously.

"Are you all right now Quat?" The blonde sighed a little at Duo's question and shrugged.

"I feel tired, sore and overall pretty terrible…I know that I'm in control again and I don't figure that will be changing anytime soon but I can still feel ZERO somewhere in my head and it worries me to no end. I'm afraid that I won't be able to control it."

"Don't think like that Quatre; you have already come so far, you are stronger than all of us." He Sandrock pilot looked up to Wufei gratefully and the Chinese nodded back to him. Naturally, Duo also had to put in his two cents.

"Besides Quat, you've got us still. We won't let you do anything stupid." Duo winked playfully but Quatre only frowned.

"But Duo…I shot you…I mean how do we even know that ZERO won't come back even stronger? Or get to Heero too?" Trowa squeezed his boyfriend's hand and the Wing pilot spoke up.

"I don't think you or I will ever completely rid ourselves of the ZERO system Quatre."

"But you two are strong enough to keep it at bay, most def." Duo's voice was genuine and left no room for argument on either end; the only option for everyone was to smile knowing that finally there would be peace among them as well as on Earth and in space.

-End

* * *

So, the ending is kind of abrupt I know. I was going to do some more with it, but this just seemed like the best place to end it. Anything else I would've written would've been awkward I think. 

However, there is also definite possibility for a Sequel! If people want one, of course. Don't get hopes too high though; I've got a few ideas for one but who knows when it will get written. For now, I'll just leave it here though and hope that people can enjoy it on its' own.

Thank you for reading and please Review!


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